Bellingham: School switch plan approved

Wednesday

Jun 25, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Matt TotaDaily News Staff

BELLINGHAM —The School Committee on Tuesday night voted decisively to implement redistricting in the 2015-16 school year, saying the ambitious plan will cut costs and improve efficiency.According to the proposal, the fourth grade will move into the middle school and the eighth grade will depart for the high school. In addition, the district will shutter Clara Macy Elementary School and turn the building over to the town.The school board cited decreasing enrollment – nearly 14 percent over the last decade – and financial struggles as flash points for redistricting.Closing Macy will save thousands of dollars in capital improvement, maintenance and transportation costs: in the first year of redistricting, the district expects to save more than $450,000.All of the money saved will go back into the school system, school officials said."We are hoping to use the resources on an annual basis – to put the money back into the programs and buildings that are still with us," said Chairman Daniel Ranieri, who has continually defended redistricting against criticism from parents and teachers.Plus, the committee said, the new format would have a positive effect on academic programs – such as fostering more collaboration among the elementary school teachers and better aligning the curricula."This isn’t solely financially driven," said Superintendent Edward Fleury.Planning will start immediately. The district already has information from two studies conducted by an independent consulting firm to use as guides: One looked at enrollment, while the other examined the facilities.It’s unknown how much the move will cost – it has been suggested that the middle school building may need new lockers – and how administrators and teachers will be redistributed among the remaining schools."We have not discussed any cuts at this point," Fleury said. "We need to look at classroom balance. Most of the teachers, most everyone, will be transferred to other buildings."Also, the district’s curriculum director still has to work with administrators and teachers to hone the new expanded elementary program for fourth and fifth graders.Board vice chairman Michael Carr said his decision to support redistricting was the hardest he has had to make in his two terms on the committee."If you look at the budget, the facilities, the enrollment, if you were in corporate America, this would be a no-brainer," Carr said. "But we’re not: We’re in education."Edie Naylor, a teacher at Macy, spoke for the opposition, asking them to remember "how angry and upset they feel right now." Many of them believe that the committee made a hasty decision and should have spent more time studying other options.And she challenged the committee to "put the money back into our schools" to increase the professional development budget and enrich the programming "to stop the exodus of students to private schools, charter schools and school choice districts.""Prove us wrong," Naylor said.Matt Tota can be reached at 508-634-7521 or mtota@wickedlocal.com.